v2.07 upgrade

Chip for the Ultimate2 QRSS kit, v2.07. (Note: now includes the functionality of the v2.03k version).

Note that this is the chip for the NEW Ultimate2 Kit, not the older retired Ultimate kit! This chip is not compatible with the old Ultimate1 kit! Furthermore, the Ultimate2 kit has now been replaced by the Ultimate3 kit. This v2.07 chip is NOT compatible with the Ultimate3 kit either!

Version history:

Version

Date

Features

v2.00

22.Mar.2013

- Original kit firmware version for beta testers

v2.01

20.Apr.2013

- First official version
- Bug fix: after frame wait, frequency didn't return to correct frequency until tone changed
- Bug fix: WSPR did not work with any system clock frequency > 16,777,216 Hz
- New menu item "Inv. GPS" for triggering on a negative edge 1pps signal
- Impose limit of 200 seconds on the speed setting, to prevent arithmetic overflow
- Pressing right button during Run resets frequency and forces key-up

v2.02

02.Jun.2013
(only beta
version
was ever
released)

- GPS: Prior v2.xx versions were very fussy about which GPS modules they would work with. The GPS interface is now returned as closely as possible to the original Ultimate (a.k.a. U1) kit operation. Note that there is no longer an "Inv. GPS" menu item, since the U2 will trigger off the correct edge by itself.
- DDS resolution on high frequencies: corrected the precision issue in the arithmetic, so now full accuracy shift steps are produced at any operating frequency. Removed the upper frequency limit of approx 42.5MHz, the full DDS range is now available New mode WSPR-15 is now supported, for experimental use on LF bands (8 times slower WSPR tones, 8 times closer together).
- New mode "FSK" which is a fast FSK mode for 10m beaconing, where the speed setting is interpreted in words per minute. The "FSK (Hz)" setting is now 3 digits (default "004" i.e. 4Hz) so that shift can be up to 999Hz. The "Inv. FSK" parameter has been discontinued in v2.02.
- “Heartbeat” indication on the display when the kit is GPS locked
- Baud rate setting extended to 6 digits, to support 115kbps rates for a particular GPS module
- GPS serial data is now set permanently to 8-bits, not configurable (suits all GPS modules anyway)
- Removed the DDS "reset" every time the frequency was updated, which caused the frequency to briefly go to zero before being updated to the new frequency. This improves output spectrum.
- Put a "stop" on the cycling through characters when editing the Message (and other text) parameters, by holding down the right button.
- Moved the "Time" parameter to the start of the menu, when the kit is in WSPR mode, because the Time parameter is what you would most commonly want to adjust, when operating in WSPR mode without a GPS to regulate it. In other modes, "Time" still comes right at the end of the menu.
- CW, FSKCW, DFCW, QRSS and FSK modes can support the '/' character in the message
- Bug fix (cosmetic only): When setting the time, the 10 minutes digit incorrectly allowed numbers >= 6. So it was possible to set a time such as 15:89.
- Bug fix (cosmetic only): If you went back in to the time parameter to edit it a second time immediately after finishing the first edit, the display was overwritten incorrectly, with the system clock frequency display.
- Bug fix (cosmetic only): If using FSKCW mode an 10 second dit speed (for example), in the interval between frames the LCD display did not have space to show the seconds digit of the clock. The "Waiting" screen has now been changed. It now only shows the time and the minutes to wait until. E.g. "15:43:21 >50" means 3:43pm and 21 seconds, and the kit is waiting for minute 50 to start the next frame. The "Waiting" screen also shows the GPS heartbeat if a GPS is connected and GPS lock is successful.
- Bug fix: In FSKCW mode, the GPS frequency stabilisation operating in the waiting period between messages, only worked the first time after cycling through the menu. Subsequent waiting periods did not perform the calibration because the kit was always in key-down (transmitting the low tone between messages).
- The default speed setting is changed to 006 which is a better default value The mode message "CW Ident" when transmitting the CW callsign identifier is replaced with “CW”

v2.02a

15.Jun.2013

- In FSK/CW, key is always down following a message completion, until the start of the next frame. If using a GPS, key-up occurs during the last 13 seconds before the next frame, when calibration occurs
- In Hell modes, the frequency is now dropped to 6.25MHz during key-up in a space character or between message transmissions
- Bug fix: factory reset of speed was to 003, should be 006
- Bug fix: cosmetic correction to the GPS "heartbeat" feature

v2.03

01.Jul.2013

- GPS: Improved handling of different varieties of GPS module
- Bug fix: 1's digit of the calibration of the 125MHz oscillator frequency was incorrectly set to the same as the 10's digit in the binary to decimal conversion

v2.04

16.Sep.2013

- More robust handling of GPS signal outages, keeps time from 20MHz osc.
- DDS frequency is temporarily set to zero on key-up: removes carrier leakage on key-up
- New “Transmit” mode allows keying by a morse key, turning the kit into a transmitter
- v2.04 merges the functionality of v2.03 and v2.03k, allows two modes transmitted sequentially
- Provision of “Fine FSK” mode in which the frequency step is 0.029Hz
- Multiple GPS modes, for 1pps level change, positive and negative edge triggering
- v2.04 always uses the Callsign setting for WSPR (never the contents of “Message”)
- The 500Hz lower limit on frequency is now removed
- Lower limits on sys. freq. and ref. freq. settings removed saving code space
- Press right button keys PA in any mode during wait between messages, for tuning

v2.05

17.Oct.2013

- Removed “CW Ident” parameter; replaced by additional Mode 2 / Freq. 2 setting.
- Added new mode “CW ID” for sending the callsign identifier at 12wpm
- Added “ParkMode” parameter and “ParkFreq” parameter, to control DDS state during key-up
- Bug fix: Custom characters would not work if any “Mode” setting was other than FSKCW
- Bug fix: Factory reset feature was broken in v2.04
- Bug fix: cosmetic issue with setting Time parameter in v2.04, screen filled with several 0's